Went to a talk on Monday night by the former Chair of a Victorian Water corporation. His presentation was clear, direct and factual ( Read more... )

The Adam Smith Club will host a dinner meeting on Monday the 25th of May 2009, at the Curry Club, 396 Bridge Rd, Richmond 3141 ( Read more... )

The news about the Victorian bushfires just keeps getting worse. A warning in 2002. The same experienced bushfire scientist being very angry in his “I told you so”: It is hard for me to see this perversion of public policy and to accept that the folk of the bush have lost their battle to live a safe life in a cared-for rural and forest ( Read more... )

Wondering about the effects of robots on human employment and income.

Jerusalem as a city where politics and commerce intersect poorly.

The co-author of the classic monetary history of the US who, at 92, is old enough to remember the Great Depression, thinks the central bankers are “fighting the last war”. A paper by Federal Reserve economists ( Read more... )

Thomas Sowell being witty and pointed on economics and economic history.

Having a local Wal-Mart does not appear to depress business activity.

A bidding war to eat (or save) a 100 year old 10kg lobster.

Fallujah now has a KFC.

Massachusetts decides it likes the idea of being the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage.

Reminding us that mass poverty is ( Read more... )

Why to care about biodiversity.

California/Oregon salmon fisheries are in trouble. More.

About the high world price of rice. The ups and downs of high food prices.

Why dams alone do not fix water problems. An elementary point about water that still seems too hard for some.

What if public schools were abolished: There are decent public ( Read more... )

There are situations when rationing is perfectly sensible. A besieged city, for example. There is only a certain amount of food to go around, there is no way to increase the amount, everyone is in it together, everyone needs roughly the same amount. So rationing makes perfect sense ( Read more... )

I have posted before on the stupidity of water restrictions. But I received yesterday via snailmail a magnet poster for the fridge and a glossy pamphlet from the Victorian Govenrment on Permanent Water Saving Rules Now in PlaceIt tells us how precious water is, how water restrictions have conserved it, and gives us five rules to follow: use manual ( Read more... )

Received the quarterly water bill: $46.25 for a three bedroom house for three months. $23.63 was for water use (30 kilolitres). At a price (after the price rise) of 80c per kilolitre.

That’s 80c (actually 79.82c) per 1000 litres.

You charge 79.82c per one thousand litres and find, surprise!, surprise!, people use a lot of water ( Read more... )